Attacker stabs uniformed French soldier

A man armed with a box cutter has attacked a French soldier patrolling the business district of Paris, stabbing him in the neck.

President Francois Hollande, speaking during a trip to Ethiopia, said ‘‘at this stage’’ there was no indication the Saturday evening attack was linked to a deadly knife attack on a British soldier this week in London.

Police sources said the victim would survive the attack but gave no information on possible motivation for the assault.

The soldier was in uniform and armed and was patrolling as part of France’s Vigipirate anti-terrorist surveillance scheme in La Defense, which at weekends is packed with shoppers.

Police officers stand at the site where a man armed with a box cutter attacked a French soldier patrolling a subway station of Paris' business district, stabbing him in the neck. Photo: AFP

On Wednesday, a soldier was hacked to death in London in a brazen broad daylight attack by two men wielding knives and a cleaver who later launched into a tirade against the British government and its military involvement in Muslim countries.

France’s defence and interior ministers in a joint statement condemned the Paris attack.

Armed and uniformed soldiers patrol a number of prominent tourist, business and transport sites in the city, such as the area around the Eiffel Tower and its major train stations.

Hollande earlier this month said France was taking seriously a call by al-Qaeda’s north African wing for Muslims worldwide to launch attacks against the country’s interests over its military operation in Mali, where French soldiers this year intervened to fight Islamist extremists.